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- The stock market is fresh off a historically strong quarter.
- Investors now find themselves at a critical juncture, with many of 2026's big macro forces undergoing a shift.
- We asked nine investing pros how they would invest $10,000 right now.
The investing landscape looks completely different than it did a quarter ago.
The Federal Reserve has a new leader. A deescalation of Iran-war tensions has moderated formerly eye-popping oil prices. Within the AI trade, hyperscalers find themselves out of favor as traders pile into chipmakers.
These forces have put investors at a critical crossroads. It lines up perfectly with Business Insider's latest installment of "Where to Invest $10,000."
We spoke to nine investing pros to find out where they're seeing the best opportunities right now as markets deal with multiple competing storylines. If you have a chunk of money you're looking to invest, here's what they recommend:
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Investing ideas: Power infrastructure, industrial automation, advanced manufacturing, and banks and financial services stocks
Nelson Yu, head of equities at AllianceBernstein, says the biggest problem in the market today is the need for capital. This has risen in importance as government spending soars, mega-IPOs come to market, and companies pour billions into AI infrastructure.
With that in mind, he says to put money to work in companies that are able to generate returns on invested capital that are higher than their cost of capital.
He pinpointed the four market themes above, which he says meet his criteria as "productivity enablers."
Focusing on these areas of the market also allows investors to diversify away from the mega-cap growth names that make up a large chunk of indexes like the S&P 500, he said.
Examples of funds that offer exposure to these trades include the iShares U.S. Power Infrastructure ETF (POWR), the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF (BOTZ), the iShares U.S. Manufacturing ETF, and the Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH).
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Investing ideas: Hyperscalers and quality small-cap stocks
David Wagner, the CIO at Aptus, sees a higher-inflation environment ahead, and said owning risk assets like stocks will be the only way to yield positive returns.
One of his preferred areas of the market is the hyperscaler firms — like Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet — because of their high operating leverage. That means that because their costs are fixed, and because of their economies of scale, it doesn't cost them much to acquire new customers, supercharging their margins.
Second, he'd look to high-quality small-cap stocks, which have underperformed their low-quality counterparts.
The First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (SKYY) and the Invesco S&P SmallCap Quality ETF (XSHQ) offer exposure to these trades.
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Investing ideas: Banks and financials stocks
Todd Brighton, the head of direct investment portfolio management at Franklin Templeton, says these areas are particularly appealing right now because of the booming IPO market.
"These mega IPOs that we've seen for SpaceX, likely at least two more over the coming months and the rest of the year — this is all massive fee-generating revenue for the banks," he said.
There's also increased demand from companies to issue debt as they fund AI capex, and heightened activity in the mergers-and-acquisitions market, he said, both of which boost the bottom lines for banks.
Funds like the Invesco KBW Bank ETF (KBWB) and the Roundhill Big Bank ETF (BIGB) track the performance of financial-firm indexes.
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Investing ideas: International and emerging market stocks, and a managed futures strategy
Tim Ayles, investment director at The Mather Group, says historically high valuations for US stocks have him bracing for 10 years of tepid returns. His concerns echo the lost decade fears that have gathered momentum on Wall Street.
Ayles recommends going outside the US and buying international and emerging-market stocks, arguing that they're lower valuations offer more future upside.
He also says he'd allocate a portion to a managed-futures strategy, which is a hedge-fund-like strategy that involves trading derivatives of several assets to drive returns that are uncorrelated to the stock market.
Examples of funds offering exposure to these trades include the iShares MSCI ACWI ex US ETF (ACWX), the State Street SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF (SPEM), and the iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF (DBMF).
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Investing ideas: High-quality bonds
David Krakauer — VP of portfolio management Mercer Advisors, which oversees $110 billion — thinks high-quality fixed income is the right play because of ongoing uncertainty and tight credit spreads.
When spreads are tight, bad news can quickly impact bond values, especially for riskier bonds. This makes quality bonds essential for a traditional 60/40 portfolio, he said.
Krakauer notes that while many investors think they're playing it safe with bonds, they often assume more risk because of exposure to private credit and high-yield bonds.
The right amount of risk will help you navigate the opportunities and risks of AI, as companies try to find the sweet spot of AI spending, he said.
A bond ETFs that offer exposure to this trade include Vanguard's Total Bond Mark ETF (BND).
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Investing ideas: Diversify equity exposure, shorten fixed-income duration, and add volatility hedges
Gene Golden — CIO of Cetera Financial Group, which oversees more than $260 billion — says his investment posture in this market is both "cautious and constructive."
In order to achieve diversification, Golden says investors should avoid chasing the highly concentrated AI trade and instead look at "high-quality" areas of the market, like healthcare and industrial stocks.
On the bond-market front, Golden says investors should focus on short-term fixed-income investments with newly appointed Kevin Warsh driving uncertainty.
iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY) and PGIM's Short-Duration Multi-Sector Bond ETF (PSDM) are two potential ways to get exposure to the trade.
Lastly, amid midterm elections, a shaky US-Iran ceasefire, and a weakening consumer weakening lower-income consumer spending all posing threats, Golden recommends liquid alternatives or volatility hedges with managed features. He says he likes products designed to "zig when the market zags," even if they may be more expensive.
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Investing ideas: The "AI food chain" (data centers, cybersecurity, robots), housing, financial services, and quantum computing.
Stephanie Link — chief investment strategist at Hightower Advisors, which oversees $324 billion — says to turn $10,000 into a mini-portfolio designed to invest in AI transformation while avoiding crowded mega-cap names.
First, she'd put half the money in the AI "food chain," which includes bets on picks-and-shovels firms, as well as cybersecurity and robotics.
Within the data center space, Link recommends Vertiv (VRT) and Dover (DOV), which manufacture heating and cooling components for data centers.
To play cybersecurity, Link says to buy Palo Alto Networks (PANW), and recommends Rockwell Automation (ROK) for robotics.
Second, Link says to put 25% in housing stocks, citing low prices and pent-up demand of millions of millennials looking to buy homes.
Third, she sees 15% as a proper allocation for financial services, given the recent surge in IPOs, dealmaking activity, and trading volume.
Lastly, Link says the remaining 10% should go towards quantum computing, a space where IBM is "the leader."
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Investing ideas: Emerging markets, international stocks, mid caps, industrials
James McCann, senior economist at Edward Jones, says to look outside mega-cap tech, and notes that EM equities have already been outperforming this year amid strong earnings.
The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, one fund that offers exposure to EM companies, is up roughly 20% year to date.
McCann doesn't say to get out of tech entirely — just look overseas, as well as at mid-cap stocks and industrials, which offer exposure without directly buying.
He says industrials are actually his team's favorite sector call right now, citing a new cycle beginning amid higher oil prices and strengthening manufacturing activity.
One funds offering exposure to this area is the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI).
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Investing ideas: Utilities, industrials, value stocks, US Treasurys
Rasco said he remains bullish on equities and would put most of the $10,000 into strategic areas of the stock market. He sees particular opportunity in utilities and in industrials, which stand to benefit from the AI buildout.
Rasco said he would also hunt for good deals in the market, pointing to how value stocks have started to pull ahead of growth stocks in recent months. The Vanguard Value Index Fund, one fund that offers exposure to those companies, is up 13% for the year, compared to the 6% year-to-date gain in the Vanguard Growth Index Fund.
Further, Rasco adds that he would also allocate a small position to US government bonds. Assuming that inflation cools and rates eventually come down, Treasurys could appreciate in value, which he said was an opportunity for investors.
Funds offering exposure to these areas include the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU), the Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS), and the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT).
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